Society of Actuaries to Shift to an Outreach-Oriented Charter

Members of the Society of Actuaries are defending themselves against the rise of the data scientists by having the SOA shift to a new, more market-oriented structure.

SOA members have voted 92.3% to 7.7% to move the top-level SOA entity to a charter based on Section 501(c)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code, from a 501(c)(3) charter, the SOA announced last week.

Both types of charters exempt entities from federal income taxes.

A 501(c)(3) charter lets a charity, an educational organization or research institute receive tax-deductible contributions from individuals, foundations and other donors.

The supporters of a 501(c)(6) organization can’t deduct their contributions to the organization — but the organization can organize public awareness campaigns.

James Glickman, the 2018-2019 SOA president, told members in a letter explaining the charter proposal that the SOA is committed to advancing actuaries as leaders and promoting the profession.

“It is an increasingly important part of our mission to ensure the public understands the value that actuaries bring to markets and the public,” Glickman wrote in the letter. “Our members have repeatedly emphasized to us the importance of this goal.”

The SOA was formed in 1889 and now has 32,000 members. The organization plans to implement the charter change by giving its current name to a new, 501(c)(6) entity.

The existing 501(c)(3) organization will become the Society of Actuaries Research Institute. The institute will operate under the oversight of the SOA and continue to use tax-deductible contributions to fund its work.

SOA Officers

SOA members have also chosen Roy Goldman to be the 2019-2020 president-elect. Goldman has retired from serving as the chief actuary at Humana Inc.

Goldman is a Jacksonville Beach, Florida, resident who has a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Franklin and Marshall University and a doctorate in math from Rutgers University.

He holds the fellow of the SOA, member of the American Academy of Actuaries, and Chartered Enterprise Risk Analyst professional designations.

Goldman was an actuary at Prudential Financial for 20 years. When he left, in 1998, he was a senior vice president and chief actuary at the company’s group business unit. He also has served on a Congressional Budget Office advisory panel.

Andrew Rallis will be the 2019-2020 SOA president.

James Glickman will be the 2019-2020 past president.

The new SOA board members are Robert Eaton, William Fornia, Sharon Giffen, Lisa Kuklinski, and Xu (Vincent) Xuan.